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Conservation in Mexico - Monthly Update November 2010

I can't believe that we are approaching the end of the year again. At this moment we are glad to report that so far we have collected over 17 Leatherback nests this season. This is a very important number as we remain in the early stages of the Leatherback season. The nesting cycles of the Leatherbacks are very different to that of the Olive Ridley, as they lay in cycles of 3 or 4 years, making them much rarer, so every nest we collect is to be treasured.

At the moment it is very likely that all of our volunteers will get the chance to see one of these amazing creatures while they are out on turtle patrol. Seeing these giant turtles lay their eggs is a remarkable site which volunteers will value and remember for a long time.

Crocodile Farm.

Jesus Perez, the vet that works with us on the project has established the new set of goals for our crocodile breeding/release program for 2011. The program for breeding the Moreletti crocodiles has been a success so far, however, it has become really difficult to arrange a release area, as the Moreletti is not indigenous species in the region. The permits and logistics involved have delayed this process.

The aims for the program next year will involve only the collection of crocodiles from the Acutus species (indigenous) for a year of controlled and supervised breeding conditions. The task will involve stricter controls over their diets, which hopefully in a year's time, will bring them to a proper size for their release back in the wild.

This project in particular promises to be really exciting, as our volunteers will have to nurse these creatures constantly and create new areas for their breeding, delivering a huge amount of satisfaction.

This month we also received a visit from Suzi Lamb who is the main liaison person for Mexico based in the UK office. Suzi went on a night turtle patrol, came out on a lagoon bird watching trip, visited the crocodile farm and helped release many hundreds of turtle hatchlings.

As always we remain really grateful that the amount of volunteers that visited us has increased over the last year, making all our efforts in conservation worthwhile. As my next update will be at the end of December, I'd also like to take this chance to say Happy Christmas from myself, Roberto and all the other staff involved at the Mexico Conservation project.